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When President Marcos announced during his first State of the Nation Address that there would be no more lockdowns moving forward, businesses were so happy that finally, economic reopening will continue and livelihoods will stabilize. The resumption of in-person classes added to the optimism. However, there seems to be some overzealous local government units (LGUs) that insist on their own guidelines that are not in sync with the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases. Take the case of this mayor in a city in Mindanao who issued a rule requiring that all establishments may operate at full capacity provided that all employees and customers present proof of COVID-19 booster jabs before entering any such establishments. The city, just like Metro Manila, is already operating under alert level 1, which supposedly relaxes a lot of the mobility protocols. Based on the framework issued by the mayor, those who will not comply with the city’s … [Read more...] about BIZ BUZZ: Overbearing LGU mayor

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Retirees are getting doubly squeezed by inflation and declines in their retirement savings; many pre-retirees are understandably worried as well. For many seniors, it’s a déjà vu from the 1960s and 1970s, when the United States experienced high inflation and stock market volatility. To address this issues and shore up your retirement finances, you’ll want to manage both sides of the “magic formula for retirement security”: I > E , or retirement income greater than your living expenses This means seeking ways to boost your retirement income, while also reducing or containing your living expenses. Let’s look at some strategies for each side of this formula. MORE FROM FORBES Retirees: Assess How Inflation And Stock Market Volatility Has Impacted Your Finances By Steve Vernon Boost your retirement income Stay the course with retirement investing. Throughout the past century, over long … [Read more...] about 9 Retirement Strategies To Protect Against Inflation And Stock Market Declines

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Covid-19 has brought us undeniable heartache and stress. However, it has also yielded some positive changes to our lives, and one of those is better and more widely used communication technology. Cell phones, especially smartphones, have become almost indispensable to daily life. Ninety-one percent of older adults own a cell phone and 53% of those are smartphones. And during Covid, they came into major use with food delivery from restaurants and from grocery stores. Some of the most popular food delivery apps, like Instacart, UberEats, Doordash , and Grubhub GRUB , are still enjoying wide popularity. Zoom , Skype , and FaceTime allow us to connect with loved ones and business associates no matter how far we live from them. Smart home devices provide entertainment, safety, and convenience for older adults in their home. These smart devices and upgraded internet connectivity have also made possible the … [Read more...] about Covid Brought A Much-Needed Tech Infusion To The Lives Of Older Adults At Home And Senior Living Communities

This article first appeared in Forum, The Edge Malaysia Weekly, on August 15, 2022 - August 21, 2022. - A + A Global foreign direct investments (FDI) recovered to pre-pandemic levels in 2021, reaching nearly US$1.6 trillion, according to the World Investment Report 2022 by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad). The report indicated that developing Asia, which receives 40% of global FDI, saw flows rise in 2021 for the third straight year to an “all-time high” of US$619 billion, growing 21% in China and 44% in Southeast Asia respectively. These findings corroborate the strong investment flows witnessed in Malaysia in 2021. The country’s economy, despite being affected by a pandemic-induced recession, benefitted tremendously from a record level of approved investments totalling RM306.5 billion, of which 68.1% was from FDI in the manufacturing, electrical and electronics (E&E), services and primary sectors, particularly mining. … [Read more...] about Growing Champions: Digital economy agreements can boost FDI

Make that four weeks in a row of gains for the U.S. stock market, as the rally has become undeniable. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq both climbed more than 3% last week, with the the Dow up 2.9%. The S&P 500 has now climbed 15% from its lows in mid-June, while the Nasdaq has clawed back 20% since then. That could technically be described as a new bull market for the index. A 20% retracement from a recent low fits the bill—or the bull—but there are a lot of opinions about that. But we can't deny the strength of the rally, especially when we dig into the charts. The average stock in the Nasdaq Composite index is up 34% from its lows. Remember, just a few months ago, we were talking about the average Nasdaq stock being down 50% from its highs. The pendulum has swung back in a big way. Across the market, the breadth thrust has been pretty impressive. And no, that's not a swimming stroke. The breath trust indicator is a technical indicator used to ascertain market momentum … [Read more...] about Going Back to School with Stock Market Fundamentals

SHANGHAI  – China’s first batch of publicly traded rental property real estate investment trusts (REITs) was snapped up in Shanghai and Shenzhen by yield-hungry investors this week, opening up a new financing channel for the struggling real estate sector. The three newly launched REITs, based on affordable rental properties, were each more than 100 times oversubscribed among institutional investors, managers said in filings. The REITs will raise a combined 3.8 billion yuan ($56 million), based on Reuters’ calculations, and the subscription periods ended early. The rental property REIT launches come as Beijing steps up efforts to aid the real estate business, a sector that was a pillar of growth in the world’s second-biggest economy over the last two decades but is now reeling amid debt piles, mortgage boycotts and sluggish sales. China launched a public REITs market based on infrastructure projects about a year ago, but this week’s launches mark the first time the REIT market has … [Read more...] about China’s first publicly traded rental property REITs snapped up by investors

- A + A KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 18): Lambo Group Bhd said it was unaware of any wrongdoing related to its indirect wholly owned subsidiary Fujian Accsoft Technology Development, after China's finance ministry imposed a penalty on the subsidiary's auditor last month. Referring to an article on the sinchew.com.my website on July 13 relating to the penalty, Lambo said it was only made aware of the article by Bursa Malaysia Securities on Wednesday. “At this juncture, the company is not aware of any wrongdoing in connection to Fujian Accsoft. Nevertheless, the company will verify the contents of the article and to take necessary action, if any,” Lambo said. “The company reserves all comments and shall make the necessary announcement(s) as appropriate when there are further developments to this matter,” said the company in a bourse filing. China’s Global Times reported in July that the country's finance ministry had imposed an administrative fine against an accounting firm … [Read more...] about Lambo says not aware of any wrongdoing in China subsidiary

Ayala-backed technology startup Expedock has secured $17.5 million worth of funding to enhance its digitized freight forwarding process in a bid to make the operations of the supply chain sector more efficient. The total funding raised includes $13.5 billion in Series A financing and $4-million seed money. Global software investor Insights Partners led the funding round. Meta, eBay, Clearmetal and Project44, among others, also participated in the fundraising activity. “Insight’s bread and butter is software companies driving transformative change in their industries, and that’s exactly what Expedock is doing in the international freight industry,” Insights Partners senior associate Connor Guess said. He is set to join Expedock’s board of directors. Expedock is a portfolio company under Kickstart Ventures Inc., a wholly owned corporate venture capital firm of Globe Telecom. The capital infusion is earmarked to expand Expedock’s team which provides the supply chain sector data … [Read more...] about Ayala-backed logistics tech startup raises fresh capital

The Ayala Group’s energy unit, AC Energy Corp. (ACEN), has secured funding to develop renewable projects in Australia that are in its pipeline. In a disclosure, ACEN said that, as a guarantor to ACEN Australia Pty Ltd., it executed a common provisions agreement and a facility agreement between ACEN Australia and DBS Bank Ltd.’s Australia branch for a 100 million Australian dollars (about P3.9 billion) in long term revolving green loan facility. This is part of ACEN’s goal of raising more than AU$600 million to support the development of its projects in Australia. DBS was the sole arranger and sustainability adviser for the green loan facility which, according to ACEN, will provide capital financing for its eligible green assets in Australia, the first within the Ayala group. “Having pledged to achieve net zero financed emissions by 2050, DBS is also committed [to] supporting like-minded clients like ACEN in the long haul to enhance Asia’s renewable energy mix to realize a low … [Read more...] about ACEN taps funding for renewable projects in Australia

Launching a business or a new product isn't easy. It takes a lot of dedication, time , and drive to make your idea come to life (my content marketing company Masthead Media wasn't born overnight). For some, it comes together quickly, and for others (like sparkling water brand Spindrift ) it can take a number of years for the business or the product to find success. Regardless of how quickly-or not-your business takes off, there are two things every entrepreneur needs: money and support from other established business owners. It's already a challenge to find funds for your business idea, but as a female entrepreneur , it can feel like a constant uphill battle with no end in sight. Many successful female business owners have been there, and are launching business funds to help other women get their ideas off the ground, too. Whether your idea is big, small, totally ironed out, or still in the works, these four funds are run by notable female entrepreneurs … [Read more...] about These 4 Girl Bosses Are Investing Millions in Female Entrepreneurs–Here’s How to Get Funded